All She Wrote: Catharsis & Absolution, is a book of poetry by Paula Light. It focuses on the myriad emotions that go along with relationship heartbreak. There are poems about narcissism, gaslighting, and other highly charged circumstances. There's also a poem about a non-starter online relationship and Google stalking. Here are some of my favourite … Continue reading Book Review: All She Wrote
It's week 14 of the Working On Us mental health prompt series over at Beckie's Mental Madness. If you'd like to participate, please refer to Beckie's post for the details. This week's topic is relationships and boundaries. Question Prompt: How would you describe your relationships with family and friends? I used to be close to my … Continue reading Working On Us – Week 14
The emerging blogger series is aimed at community building through giving mental health bloggers who are early in their blogging evolution the opportunity to have their work seen by a wider audience. It's also a way to introduce you as a reader to some newer members of our community. This post is by Sarah from … Continue reading Emerging Blogger Series: Sarah
The emerging blogger series is aimed at community building through giving mental health bloggers who are early in their blogging evolution the opportunity to have their work seen by a wider audience. It's also a way to introduce you as a reader to some newer members of our community. This post is by Mike and … Continue reading Emerging Blogger Series: Mike & Kayleigh-Marie
The emerging blogger series is aimed at community building through giving mental health bloggers who are early in their blogging evolution the opportunity to have their work seen by a wider audience. It's also a way to introduce you as a reader to some newer members of our community. This post is by Tigerchelle of … Continue reading Emerging Blogger Series: Tigerchelle
For those of us who are single, whether we want to be or not, Valentine's day can feel like it's created for the express purpose of making single people feel shitty about themselves. Saint Valentine is a Catholic saint who is also recognized in the Anglican and Lutheran churches. His history isn't entirely clear, but … Continue reading Happy un-Valentine’s day
I've been thinking lately about my inability to maintain relationships with people. Depression has caused me to shut a lot of people out of my life. Mostly I haven't given it much thought, but it dawned on me that it has to do with a sense of brokenness. My illness makes it hard to be … Continue reading Brokenness
The ways to connect with other people have changed a great deal since I was a kid in the 80s. Technology is light years ahead of where it used to be, which makes connecting easier in some ways, but mental illness likes to get in the way and put up roadblocks. Back in the 80s, … Continue reading How do we connect with others?
I feel trapped in several areas of my life. Trapped in a few different ways, and really not sure how to get myself out. The most obvious is that I feel trapped in my depression. I'm feeling at a loss as to what to do. I'm managing ok for the most part, but I want … Continue reading Trapped
I think most of us probably have a few of them in our lives: the people that want to be supportive, but they're just way off the mark. The fixer: This is the person who wants to figure out how to solve your problems because then you'll no longer have anything to be mentally ill … Continue reading How not to be supportive
I live in a figurative cave that is of my own making (although I suppose of my depression's making would be more accurate). I have pushed nearly everyone out of my life, and while that is occasionally lonely, it feels much easier. My oldest friend keeps trying to remain in my life, even though I … Continue reading Cave-dwelling
Strong at the Broken Places: Voices of Illness, a Chorus of Hope is an intimate look at living with chronic illness. Author Richard M. Cohen, who himself has multiple sclerosis, works with five participants who have various chronic illnesses to capture their stories and help others understand the overwhelming toll that chronic illness can take. … Continue reading Book review: Strong at the Broken Places
One of the (many) things I'm working on is checking myself on my thought gremlins – depression-related misinterpretations of things happening around me. Not stopping the misinterpretations (I'm nowhere close to being ready for that yet), but noticing them for what they are. This past weekend I was exchanging emails with someone in my life … Continue reading Reining in the thought gremlins
I've had a pretty shitty last couple of years. There have been multiple people in a variety of different contexts who have treated me like crap, including people whose role (in theory) was to help me. While I don't have PTSD, I do feel traumatized by the things that have happened to me, and that … Continue reading Finding safety without armour
I spent Christmas with my family this year. It was a small gathering - just my parents, my brother, his fiancee, and me. Except it didn't feel small; it seemed like there were far too many people around. I haven't had a lot of contact with my family for some time now because of my … Continue reading Feeling like a stranger in my own family